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Wednesday, March 9, 2011

How To Finish Your Novel

As I approach the end of my first novel this year I'm getting a lot of questions on how I do it so I thought I'd share my secrets with you. Many of you already know I carry a notebook everywhere I go and write everything long hand first, then I enter it later in my computer. This gives me the freedom to be able to write anywhere, any time. I write on the way to work (don't worry, I car pool), I write on my breaks at work, and whenever I find a free moment at home. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve though.

First I set a big goal such as, finish this book in six months. Your goal doesn't have to have such a tight timeline but it should have a time that you plan to have the novel completed. After that I take a guess at how long I think my novel is going to be. Based on that I figure out how many pages I have to write a day to reach my goal in time. Those pages become my secondary goal. It's is usually three pages a day. Again, your goal doesn't have to be nearly that much. The important thing is that you have a goal.

There is a key to reaching your writing goals, something you must do otherwise you risk never reaching them. This won't be easy for many of you because it isn't within a writer's nature. Are you ready to commit to it? Okay, here it is: allow yourself to write a rough draft. If you try to perfect your novel every step of the way it will take years to write and the process with frustrate you nearly to death. Get that first draft done from start to finish without a single edit. I give you permission. Once you're finished with it you can go back and put it through the ringer, but you must write it first.

Join us this Thursday at 6:00pm PT on the #WritersRoad chat on Twitter to discuss the topic farther and to get that much needed support for finishing your novel!

13 comments:

Good advice. I think a lot of people think that when you sit down to write a novel that it has to be perfect. This is SO. NOT. TRUE.

All the books that we love were revised and edited to get to that point.

The first thing you must do is write it out. Even if it's ugly. I struggle with this myself. You think, "This will never get published." And you're right -- because it's a draft. You never send out draft. You revise it and polish it until it gleams.

I am soooo taking your advice, Heather. As you know, I've done the research and background thinking for my next book, a historical, and am now ready to write. I am refusing to fall into old patterns that keep me from finishing that messy first draft. Thank you!!

Heather, this is excellent advice. I would never have finished my novel if I didn't first write the rough draft. And... it was so rough. I'm still working on it. Thank you so much for sharing your secret!

First drafts are so important. "You can't fix what you don't have." I have no idea who said this, but it stuck like glue! LOL One thing that really helped me see the light was participating in NANOWRIMO. Get the story down and worry about the edits later. I look forward to Novemember every year now. :)

NaNoWriMo saved my life! Even though I cheat a bit. I write with no pressure throughout the year. I work on poetry and my submissions at a steady pace, but I don't stress out about it. Then I sign up for NaNo and bust my but to finish what I've started. It's the only time I can breeze over typos a supress the urge to fix them. Then I spent the next year fixing them (this is ultra boring to me so I usually intersperse it with something new)My other fav thing to do is get my draft bound. I'm so impatient and I want to see it in print right away! I go to createspace.com and design a cover and everything. Then I hand out copies to my critique group and let them pencil in corrections. It's a satisfying and inexpensive way to hug my manuscript.Soooo... I guess every author has a different way of doing things, but whatever works right?

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Most writers struggle to maintain equilibrium in their writing life. We find that both intense solitude and enthusiastic networking are necessary to success. It's a little crazy. Curiously, we are not willing to give up this crazy life. We need help. Not to give anything up, but to make it easier.

This blog is meant to be a writers' resource, to identify and delve into the elements that help us achieve equilibrium and success. Each Monday I'll post on Writer's Craft or Practical Tools—the keys to writing and pitching a great story. Previously I’ve covered topics including News & Views, People to Know, and Creative Energy. You can access those posts by clicking on the white topic headings above. While the posts will dip back into those pools when something irresistible comes up, for the most part I’m now zeroing in on the primary requirement we all must meet to become published . . . writing a great book. I hope these posts are useful and that you'll leave comments and ask questions so we can indulge in one of our favorite writerly things—a dialogue.

About Me

I'm a writer who lives in the Pacific Northwest of the U.S. and loves to travel. I write mystery/suspense and historical fiction. One suspense novel, set in London and Cairo, is now on submission, while I delve into the struggle for survival that shaped the undeclared war between Native Americans and white American settlers in the Ohio River Valley in the late 1700s.